Sympathy for the Gorgon, Part the Third

Often a quick backflip precedes two steps forward, so let's recap. In Part 2, we uncovered a hidden meaning to our myth. Athena and Medusa should not be viewed as opposing entities, but as complementary aspects of the same feminine power. We noted that traditional representations show the face of Medusa as a talisman on Athena's shield.  We've also seen how this Athena-Medusa complex finally thwarts Poseidon by turning his whopping great phallic-symbolic sea beast to stone.

What now? Well, we could of course go French, and interpret the whole shebang in terms of the power of the female Gaze: which would make a degree of sense... in fact it's a totally obvious approach, given that Medusa's dirty looks are the main player in the piece. But this is a Reichian blog, OK! What interests me is the dichotomy between the goddess's cerebral, rule-based approach to life, and the instinctual, embodied responses of the gorgon. To paraphrase the immortal words of Dory Previn, Athena just can't get down with the iguanas.

The Greeks believed in a sound mind in a sound body after all: Νοῦς ὑγιὴς ἐν σώματι ὑγιεῖ. The outcome of the whole piece is a new improved Athena, whose high ideals are backed up with natural aggression: she no longer needs to renounce instinct and pleasure in order to embrace reason. As for Medusa, she turned totally iguana after the rape... and needs to be restored to humane behaviour, by very drastic means.




But what of the bit players, onlookers, bystanders and passers-by? While the gods and gorgons are throwing tantrums, Perseus and Andromeda have their own crazy-making dysfunctional family systems to contend with. Perseus's mother Danae was impregnated by Zeus during a surprise golden shower gone wrong; then thrown into the sea in a wooden chest by her first husband; then kept locked up in a tower by the next guy she bumped into. Like Medusa, she shows many of the hallmarks of a survivor of sex abuse: she can't make positive changes to her situation... either by marrying king Polydectes, or by leaving him: she can't exercise her will in a healthy way. Her son is compelled to act as her proxy. 


(In case you think I'm spinning too many implications from this old Grecian yarn, take a look at the very similar Danae/Danu myths and placenames dispersed from Ireland to India and beyond. These stories have survived for millenia, because they provide useful lessons for human life, and resonate deeply.)


Polydectes says he'll stop pestering Danae, if Perseus will slay the gorgon. So off goes Perseus, mummy's good little helper, to do just that. Perseus's enthusiasm for this dangerous mission can be analysed in various ways: he wants to redeem the family's honour given the shameful circumstances of his birth; his place in the world is threatened - he has the role of surrogate spouse and confidante to Danae, which Polydectes might usurp; he's just a typical hormonal teenage boy. But the parallels between Danae and Medusa are too strong to be accidental.


Those who study infant development tell us that, warm, open, attuned touch and visual contact from the initial caregiver are vital if a child is to grow into a self-confident and happy adult. Ideally the child should receive unconditional positive regard from its mother. This is precisely what Danae cannot give, try as she might: she is disturbed, depressed, shamed, and scared stiff... understandably. And Perseus goes through childhood knowing something isn't quite right: 'What's wrong with Mum? Why isn't she happy. Am I to blame? Can I fix this?'' Additionally, he's filled with unconscious rage at the emotional neglect he experienced as a baby. This makes him an ideal candidate to work as Chief 
Gorgon Exterminator. To kill Medusa, he looks at her reflection in his shield... I can only agree with Robert Bly's interpretation: direct confrontation of a mother's rage and pain are too much for any boy, only by a gradual approach to the truth of the situation can he succeed. This is a partial explanation of why men unwittingly choose partners who have the same faults as their mothers did, and why girls 'marry their fathers' - we need to resolve the initial conflicts of our lives before we can form healthy adult relationships. It also explains why therapeutic processes can take years to produce lasting results... primal pain can only be safely experienced in small doses. 


That's Perseus. As for Andromeda, her father has chained her to a rock to be enjoyed by a sea monster: and she's gone along with it! She really needs to learn to pull a gorgon face.   ;